“Since joining Ann Arbor SPARK, I’ve met with more than 80 business owners who are advancing our region’s economy; there’s an incredible depth of expertise in our region,” said Krutko.  “The podcast series is designed to not only highlight that expertise, but also make it available to others who could benefit from the wisdom those business leaders can share.”

The podcasts will feature successful local businesses, business owners and business leaders.  Throughout these conversations, the CEOs will share best practices, lessons learned and an “in the trenches” view of the region’s economy.

The first podcast, available now on Ann Arbor SPARK’s website, is an insightful conversation with Mary Sue Coleman, president of University of Michigan.  Coleman discusses the role of a research university in economic development and the impact of University of Michigan’s partnership with Ann Arbor SPARK on the region.

Subsequent Ann Arbor SPARK CEO Podcasts: Conversations on Economic Opportunity, will feature regional leaders, including Ken Fischer, president of the University Musical Society, Mike Miller, head of Google Ann Arbor, Jan Garfinkle, managing director of venture capital firm Arboretum Ventures, and many more.

Ann Arbor SPARK will release new podcasts on its website every two weeks through 2012.  A full schedule of podcasts is available on SPARK’s webpage.

Lakeside Software, a leader in business intelligence solutions for IT professionals, today announced the acquisition and opening of a new R&D facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This facility will be primarily utilized for product design and development, and will accelerate company growth by making it easier to hire top technical talent from the Ann Arbor metropolitan area. The new facility is fully operational and is located at 112 South Main Street in Ann Arbor; Lakeside’s corporate headquarters will remain in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The company had announced in March 2011 plans to expand in the Ann Arbor area, and had received a Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) tax credit to help encourage the expansion.

Founded in 1997, Lakeside Software has grown organically without outside investment. The company’s products employ differentiated technology in the form of a patent-protected distributed database architecture for data collection and aggregation that delivers unprecedented depth of information and insight into user experience. Lakeside has also successfully established key partnerships with global systems integrators and technology firms that use the company’s technology to implement desktop transformation and virtualization services. The company was recently designated Technology Company of the Year by Automation Alley, Michigan’s largest technology business association.

“We’re excited to be expanding in Michigan and in the Ann Arbor area. Michigan is technology-friendly and offers a wealth of technology talent that we will employ to drive our continued growth.” Michael Schumacher, founder & CEO, Lakeside Software.

“Ann Arbor SPARK worked with Lakeside Software early on to support the company’s expansion efforts to our region, including working with MEDC and other officials to secure the incentives that emerging companies need to grow. The tech talent here will ensure that Lakeside Software will hit the ground running, quickly ramping up its operations and getting down to business. Long term, the depth of tech talent in Ann Arbor will be a strategic asset for Lakeside Software.” Paul Krutko, President and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK.

Recipients of 2011 FastTrack awards were required to have revenue of at least $100,000 in 2007, with an annual growth of 20 percent for the following three years.  To qualify, companies reported 2010 revenues greater than 2009 revenues.

“The 2011 FastTrack winners represent how a commitment to excellence and perseverance can grow a business in the toughest economic times,” said Paul Krutko, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK.  “These companies are to be commended for their commitment to innovation and their commitment to growing here in the Ann Arbor region.  The companies that we recognize as FastTrack winners are driving industries that fuel the growth of our economy.”

One-year FastTrack winners:

Pixel Velocity develops and markets advanced system-level video surveillance and threat detection solutions to the homeland security and defense markets.  Pixel8s products provide maximum site security and operational continuity for large, complex environments with strategic national and local importance, including military bases, marine ports, airports, power generation sites, and other critical infrastructure.

Power Marketing and Research helps businesses and organizations get closer to their customers through market research. It utilizes a variety of customized research methods — including focus groups, surveys, and more — to help businesses maximize their potential. Power Marketing and Research is a woman-owned company celebrating a decade of assisting clients with their research needs.

Three-year FastTrack winners:

Caelynx LLC is a computer-aided engineering firm providing expedient, reliable consulting services.  It specializes in helping clients in the aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, life science and consumer product industries.

MedHub, Inc. provides managed IT services for large academic teaching hospitals worldwide. MedHub clients include The University of Michigan, Duke University, Stanford University, Cleveland Clinic, The University of Washington, The University of Wisconsin, and Indiana University.

Four-year FastTrack winners:

LLamasoft Inc. provides software and expertise that helps global organizations design and improve their supply chains. Its product, Supply Chain Guru, enables companies to build a model of their supply chain and run “what if” scenarios on it, so that the best configuration can be identified.

SRT Solutions creates software for growing and innovative companies that see software as a strategic asset. It uses the best available tools and processes to provide customized, reliable, secure software for phones, tablets, web, desktop, and enterprise systems, focusing on high-value applications that have the potential to change a client’s market.

Five-year FastTrack winner:

ForeSee Results is the leader in online customer satisfaction measurement.  It continuously measures satisfaction across customer touch points and delivers critical insights on where to prioritize improvements for maximum impact. ForeSee’s technology and proven methodology connect the customer experience to the bottom line, helping its clients drive future success by confidently optimizing the efforts that will achieve business and brand objectives. The result is better business for companies and a better experience for consumers.

“Ann Arbor SPARK’s integrated approach to economic development helps Cataphora, and similar businesses, efficiently locate and initiate operations in the region,” said Paul Krutko, president and CEO.  “At a MichAgain CEO Dinner event where Ann Arbor SPARK was working to attract talent back to Michigan, we initially engaged Cataphora.  From that point, Ann Arbor SPARK has provided the support, in collaboration with the University of Michigan, that helped Cataphora access the talent and infrastructure needed to establish its office in the region.  It’s exciting to see a high tech, high potential company recognize the value of locating in Ann Arbor and commit to growing here.”

“We’re very excited about the possibilities here in Michigan,” notes Chris Kurecka, Cataphora’s Manager of Michigan Engineering. “Cataphora thrives on the talent of its employees and the Ann Arbor area offers some of the best. We’ve found a group of superb employees, from both the University of Michigan’s Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) department within the College of Engineering, and from its School of Information.”

The office is currently staffed with both full- and part-time employees, some of them current U-M students, working primarily on software engineering and quality assurance efforts.

In the months leading up to the Michigan office opening, Cataphora received valuable support from Ann Arbor SPARK, a public-private partnership whose mission is to advance innovation-based economic development in the greater Ann Arbor region, and from the University of Michigan’s Business Engagement Center. “We are thrilled to have another U-M alum-founded company locate in Ann Arbor,” comments Stella Wixom, Director of the Business Engagement Center. “It is a great example of how the University, working in conjunction with our community partners like Ann Arbor SPARK, can make an impact. We look forward to helping Cataphora meet their hiring needs and connecting them to additional University resources as they expand their operation in the region.”

Shore attributes the significant increase in usage to high gas prices and the avoidance of parking costs, as well as the affordability and convenience of busing. "As more people use [busing], more employees will know somebody else that's using the bus and therefore that will make it a little more approachable to them."

Any company residing within the bounds of the Ann Arbor DDA district is eligible to purchase the passes, which cost $10 per employee and are good for a full year's unlimited use. The year runs from November 1 through October 31. The passes, the full cost of which are $71 apiece, are heavily subsidized through a grant from the DDA. "And that's because as much as [the DDA focuses] on parking, they're also very supportive of alternative transportation and green transportation," Shore says.

Last year, 521,768 rides were taken with the go!passes. This year that figure has already been exceeded; as of the end of August, with two months left in the current pass cycle, 528,804 boardings were tallied.

"From what we see, this is a huge economic development driver," Shore says, "because we've had employers that have told us, 'We stay downtown or we come downtown because we know go!passes are available.'"

Source: Nancy Shore, director of getDowntown
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
News from Concentrate

“Ann Arbor SPARK is emerging as a national leader in economic development through the creation and implementation of innovative business acceleration programs,” said Paul Krutko, president and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK.  ”This program will enable Ann Arbor SPARK to build on our solid track record of success in helping businesses, and the economy, grow.  Our efforts will create opportunities for success throughout the state, and serve as a model for other communities throughout the country.”

Ann Arbor SPARK’s model will focus on helping emerging businesses with marketing and business development strategies, collaborative partnerships, business development and investor plans, IP strategies and commercialization strategies.  Local experts will be recruited to provide assistance and services to start-up companies.

Once developed and implemented throughout the region, the project will serve as a model for other communities wishing to start their own business accelerator programs.

“Continuous innovation and a flow of new technologies to the marketplace are vital to our job creation and competitiveness,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development John Fernandez. “This EDA grant will spur and accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship in southeastern Michigan to help diversify the economy and create new job opportunities.”

fDi Magazine used a mixture of data and expert opinion to rank cities which have the best prospects for inward investment, economic development and business expansion.  fDi Intelligence, from The Financial Times Ltd, is a provider of foreign direct investment intelligence.

Lakeside Software plans to invest $6.1 million to expand existing operations in Bloomfield Hills, as well as locate operations in Ann Arbor. The company expects the projects to create up to a total of 198 direct new jobs, 73 in Ann Arbor.

“The Ann Arbor region is rich in software development talent,” said Skip Simms, interim director and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK.  “For a fast growing company like Lakeside Software, that immediate access to talent is an important consideration when choosing a location for expansion.  Being able to hire the right talent, quickly, will boost Lakeside Software’s expansion efforts.”

The MEGA award helped convince Lakeside Software to invest in Michigan over a competing site in California.

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